Relationship between oral frailty and locomotive syndrome in working-age individuals: a cross-sectional survey of workers in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Although the relationship between oral and physical frailty in older adults has been investigated, few studies have focused on the working-age population. This study examined the relationships of the number of remaining teeth and masticatory ability, i.e., signs of oral frailty, with locomotive syndrome (LS) in the working-age population. METHODS: The number of remaining teeth, masticatory ability, and presence of LS in 501 participants from four companies were examined. The relationships between the number of remaining teeth groups (≥ 20 teeth or ≤ 19 teeth) and LS and between the masticatory ability groups (high or low) and LS were examined. A binomial logistic regression analysis was conducted using LS from the stand-up test as the objective variable and the two subgroups based on the number of remaining teeth and potential crossover factors as covariates. RESULTS: The analysis included 495 participants (354 males and 141 females; median age, 43 years). The median number of remaining teeth among the participants was 28, and 10 participants (2.0%) had ≤ 19 teeth. The mean masticatory ability values were 39.9 for males and 37.7 for females, and 31 participants (6.3%) had low masticatory ability. In the stand-up test, those with ≤ 19 teeth had a higher LS rate than those with ≥ 20 teeth. The odds ratio for LS in the group with ≤ 19 remaining teeth was 5.99, and the confidence interval was 1.44-24.95. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirmed signs of oral frailty in the working-age population. Further, the number of remaining teeth possibly affects standing movement. Thus, oral frailty is associated with LS in the working-age population.

Soy protein intake increased bone mineral density under nonenergy-deficiency conditions but decreased it under energy-deficiency conditions in young female rats.

Many young individuals attempt to lose too much weight because of a false body image, which induces low bone mineral density (BMD) resulting from energy restriction. In addition, a decrease in estrogen has been observed along with the decrease in BMD. Estrogen is responsible for maintaining bone mass, and soybeans contain high levels of isoflavones, which have estrogen-like effects. Thus, we hypothesized that soy protein prevents low BMD caused by energy deficiency in young female rats. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of soy protein intake on bone loss by energy deficiency in young female rats. Female Sprague-Dawley rats (6 weeks old) were randomly divided into the following 4 experimental groups: ad libitum feeding and casein diet (AL-Cas); ad libitum feeding and soy diet (AL-Soy); 40% energy restriction and casein diet (ER-Cas); and 40% energy restriction and soy diet (ER-Soy). The experimental period was 10.5 weeks. The AL-soy group had significantly higher BMD of the femur than the AL-Cas group (AL-Cas = 156 ± 5 mg/cm2, AL-Soy = 165 ± 7 mg/cm2; P < .05). Meanwhile, the ER-Soy group had significantly lower BMD of the tibia, femur, and lumbar spine than the ER-Cas group (ER-Cas = 147 ± 7 mg/cm2, ER-Soy = 133 ± 10 mg/cm2; P < .01). These results show that compared with ad libitum control groups, soy protein resulted in higher BMD under nonenergy deficiency, but under energy-deficiency conditions, it resulted in lower BMD.

Is musculoskeletal pain related to locomotive syndrome even in young and middle-aged adults?

OBJECTIVES: Locomotive syndrome (LS) is the leading cause of persons needing long-term care in old age and is characterized by locomotive organ impairment including musculoskeletal pain. The aim was to examine the association between musculoskeletal pain and LS in young and middle-aged persons. METHODS: A total of 836 participants (male 667, female 169; mean age 44.4 years) were examined in this cross-sectional study. The LS was evaluated by three screening tools: the two-step test, the stand-up test, and the 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale. Musculoskeletal pain, exercise habits, physical function (walkability and muscle strength), and physical activity were also assessed. RESULTS: The LS was found in 22.8% of participants. The number with musculoskeletal pain was significantly higher in those with the LS. A significant correlation was found between the degree of musculoskeletal pain and exercise habits. Less regular exercise was significantly associated with higher LS prevalence. Physical activity and function were greater in participants with more regular exercise. CONCLUSION: Musculoskeletal pain was significantly related to LS even in young and middle-aged persons. The present results suggest that control of musculoskeletal pain and improvement of exercise habits in young and middle-aged persons might help prevent the LS.

Is locomotion training effective for middle-aged workers?

OBJECTIVES: Locomotion training (LT) consisting of single-leg standing and squatting was developed to help prevent locomotive syndrome (LS), and is typically used in older people. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of LT on young and middle-aged people. METHODS: This study was performed at two companies. Workers in company A engaged in LT five times/week for 1 year, whereas workers in company B did not. Baseline and follow-up checkups consisted of questionnaires and physical performance tests, including three kinds of locomotion tests. RESULTS: In total, 88 and 101 workers in companies A and B, respectively, met the inclusion criteria. LS stage, stand-up test results, and scores on a geriatric locomotive function scale significantly improved among workers in company A, but only stand-up test results significantly improved among workers in company B. Quadriceps power increased in company A, but did not change in company B. Especially, workers with LS in company A had more significant changes than those without LS and those in company B. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this longitudinal study suggest that LT is useful even for young and middle-aged workers. LT was especially more effective for workers than those without LS.

Are lifestyle factors significantly associated with self-rated health among Japanese female healthcare students?

BACKGROUND: Self-rated health (SRH), a subjective perception of an individual's overall health, is widely used in public health assessment. The transition from adolescence to young adulthood is a critical period involving substantial changes in lifestyle and dietary habits. Therefore, it is important to understand SRH among young Japanese females. The present study aimed to investigate the relationships between SRH among female healthcare students and their lifestyle factors, such as living status (living with others or living alone), smoking habit, alcohol consumption, frequency of breakfast consumption (FBC), physical activity, insomnia, and physique recognition. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1101 female healthcare students in Japan. The body mass index was calculated from the body height and weight using data from periodic health examinations. Self-reported sociodemographic, lifestyle or dietary habits, physical activity, and SRH were used through a self-administered questionnaire. Participants were classified as having either good SRH (excellent, very good, or good) or impaired SRH (fair or poor). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the independent relationships between SRH and lifestyle factors. RESULTS: A total of 11.4% participants demonstrated impaired SRH. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the University of California Los Angeles activity score, Athens Insomnia Scale, and physique recognition were associated with SRH. CONCLUSIONS: It was suggested that public health activities that consider physical activity, sleep, and physique recognition may help maintain and improve SRH in female university students in Japan.

Locomotive syndrome testing in young and middle adulthood.

Background: Previous epidemiological studies on locomotive syndrome (LS) have been mainly conducted in retired elderly people. However, from the view point of its prevention, it is important to assess currently working younger people. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of the level of LS in young and middle-aged adult workers.Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed at four companies. We used the two-step test, stand-up test, and 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (GLFS-25) as screening tools of LS. We also questioned the subjects for knee pain and low back pain.Results: A total of 715 workers participated in this study. The percentage of females with LS increased with age. However, the percentage of males with LS was approximately 20% in each age category. Two-step and stand-up test scores worsened in an age-dependent manner, although GLFS-25 scores varied independently of age. Knee pain, low back pain and physical activity were significantly related to LS-level.Conclusion: Our results suggest that there is some degree of LS even in young and middle-aged adults. Knee pain, low back pain and physical activity levels are key factors related to LS even in young and middle-aged adults.

Jump Exercise and Food Restriction on Bone Parameters in Young Female Rats.

We examined the effect of jump exercise on bone parameters in young female rats under food restriction. Seven-week-old female rats were divided into four groups: a sedentary and ad libitum feeding group (n = 10), a jump exercise and ad libitum feeding group (n = 9), a sedentary and 30% food restriction group (n = 9), and a jump exercise and 30% food restriction group (n = 10). The jump groups jumped 20 times/day, 5 times/week. The experiment lasted for 13 weeks. There were no interactions of jump exercise and food restriction on bone. Jump exercise under food restriction conditions induced higher bone strength, bone mineral content, bone area, bone mineral density (BMD), and cortical bone volume in young female rats, similar to rats under ad libitum feeding conditions. Bone strength parameters were not significantly different between ad libitum intake and food restriction with jump exercise training; however, BMD, bone size, and bone mass in the food restriction groups did not reach the levels of those in the ad libitum conditions group with jump exercise training. Neither jump exercise nor food restriction had a significant effect on serum estradiol or IGF-1. Our study reveals jump exercise attenuates loss of biomechanical properties and some bone sites with food restriction in young female rats.

Relationships Between the Purposes of Taurine-Contained Nutritional Drink Intake and Lifestyle Habits: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Workers in Japan.

This study surveyed that the relationship between the frequencies of intake of taurine-contained nutritional drinks (TCND), and lifestyle and the purposes of intake it. The study was conducted a cross-sectional survey using 265 people (203 male, 62 female) aged 18-64 worked in two companies in Mie Prefecture, Japan between December 2017 and February 2018. The questionnaires gathered characteristics, demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle habits and purpose of TCND intake. We divided the frequency of intake of TCND of at least a few times every month as the high-frequency TCND (HF-TCND) group, and the remaining as the low-frequency TCND (LF-TCND) group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between characteristics, demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle habits and purpose of TCND intake and HF-TCND after controlling for individual variables. Of all participants, 13.4% was evaluated as HT-CND. 16.3% for male or 4.3% for female were evaluated as HF-TCND (p < 0.05). The most reason for frequent choosing a TCND was fatigue recovery. Logistic regression analysis showed that sex, occupation, purpose of TCND intake and stressful are related to HF-TCND. Our study indicates that purpose of TCND intake, such as fatigue recovery and reducing stress, may partly affect the frequency of intake of TCND. Therefore, we must continue to show scientific evidence for taurine by enlightenment activity etc.

Relationships between body mass index, lifestyle habits, and locomotive syndrome in young- and middle-aged adults: A cross-sectional survey of workers in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: Although many studies have examined locomotive syndrome (LS) among elderly people, few studies have examined LS in young- and middle-aged adults. This study aimed to provide basic data on the epidemiological characteristics of LS, including in young- and middle-aged adults. METHOD: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of a nonrandom sample of 852 adults aged 18-64 (678 males, 174 females) working in five companies in Japan, between December 2015 and February 2018. LS stage was determined using the criteria proposed by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA). LS stage 0 was defined as No-LS, and stages 1 and 2 were defined as LS. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the independent relationship between LS and sociodemographic, smoking, alcohol drinking (AD), frequency of breakfast consumption (FBC), dietary variety score (DVS), and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) activity score after adjusting for age and sex. RESULTS: We found that 23.1% of participants were evaluated as LS, including 21.5% of males and 29.3% of females (P < 0.05). Participants aged ≥45 years exhibited higher rates of LS (males: 23.1%, females: 43.6%) compared with those aged <45 years (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed that age, body mass index (BMI), AD, UCLA activity score, and FBC were also related to LS. CONCLUSION: Education initiatives about LS should be targeted not only to elderly populations but also to young- and middle-aged adults in the workplace.

BLM is an early responder to DNA double-strand breaks.

Bloom syndrome (BS) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a marked predisposition to cancer and elevated genomic instability. The defective protein in BS, BLM, is a member of the RecQ helicase family and is believed to function in various DNA transactions, including in replication, repair, and recombination. Here, we show that both endogenous and overexpressed human BLM accumulates at sites of laser light-induced DNA double-strand breaks within 10s and colocalizes with gammaH2AX and ATM. Like its RecQ helicase family member, WRN, the defective protein in Werner syndrome, dissection of the BLM protein revealed that its HRDC domain is sufficient for its recruitment to the damaged sites. In addition, we confirmed that the C-terminal region spanning amino acids 1250-1292 within the HRDC domain is necessary for BLM recruitment. To identify additional proteins required for the recruitment of BLM, we examined the recruitment of BLM in various mutants generated from chicken DT40 cells and found that the early accumulation of BLM was not dependent on the presence of ATM, RAD17, DNA-PKcs, NBS1, XRCC3, RAD52, RAD54, or WRN. Thus, HRDC domain in DNA helicases is a common early responder to DNA double-strand breaks, enabling BLM and WRN to be involved in DNA repair.

Analyses of the interaction of WRNIP1 with Werner syndrome protein (WRN) in vitro and in the cell.

Werner was originally identified as a protein that interacts with the product of the Werner syndrome (WS) gene, WRN. To examine the function of the WRNIP1/WRN complex in cells, we generated knock-out cell lines that were deficient in either WRN (WRN(-/-)), WRNIP1 (WRNIP10(-/-/-)), or both (WRNIP1(-/-/-)/WRN(-/-)), using a chicken B lymphocyte cell line, DT40. WRNIP1(-/-/-)/WRN(-/-) DT40 cells grew at a similar rate as wild-type cells, but the rate of spontaneous sister-chromatid exchange was augmented compared to that of either of the single mutant cell lines. Moreover, while WRNIP1(-/-/-) and WRN(-/-) cells were moderately sensitive to camptothecin (CPT), double mutant cells showed a synergistic increase in CPT sensitivity. This suggested that WRNIP1 and WRN do not always function cooperatively to repair DNA lesions. The lack of a discernable functional interaction between WRNIP1 and WRN prompted us to reevaluate the nature of the physical interaction between these proteins. We found that MBP-tagged WRNIP1 interacted directly with WRN, and that the interaction was enhanced by the addition of ATP. Mutations in the Walker A motifs of the two proteins revealed that WRNIP1, but not WRN, must bind ATP before an efficient interaction can occur.